Hi all,
Long time reader, first time poster here! 
I'm perplexed and hope ya'll can help! I tried getting pre-approved for an auto loan with NFCU and PenFed (multiple times for each, with different loan amounts), but keep getting denied. I then tried with Capital One and was pre-approved for 11%-12%, depending on the car.
Is 11% good? I see people posting about getting 6-7% with credit unions, so not getting pre-qualified for my CUs is driving me crazy! Especially since I need to get a car within the next couple of weeks.
- Gross: $72K (not a lot for the Bay Area, but live with my bf who owns his home, so no rent)
- Late payments: 0
- Opened first account: early 2020 (OpenSky secured card)
- #CC cards: 8
- CC debt: $8.1K
- Remaining credit available: $39k
- Personal Loan (NFCU): $16.9K (opened last month; transferred $18k in CC debt from old vet bills)
Scores:
- Vantage 3.0: 738 <-- score via NFCU app
- Fico 9 = 695 <-- via PenFed (not updated since Jan so should have gone up a good amount)
- Fico 8 (Transunion) = 697
- Fico 8 (Experian) = 717
- Fico 2 (Experian) = 721
- Transunion: 743
- Equifax: 745
PenFed accounts:
1) Regular savings: $450
* This account receives a bi-monthly transfer of $25 from my payroll
2) Free Checking: $25 (never use)
3) Money Market Savings: $181 (never use)
NFCU accounts:
1) Flagship Checking: $50
2) Savings: $558
3) Personal loan: $16.9K
I pay at least double the min amount on all of my CCs and loan payments each month, so I cannot figure out WHY my credit unions won't prequalify me. The only possibilities I can think of are
- Too new personal loan --Opened the NFCU loan in March. BUT I paid extra so I'm paid up through June (I'm secure with my job, but figure I might as well pay ahead just as a precaution given the economy)
- My credit history isn't long --- opened a few cards last year while scrambling to figure out how to pay for my late dog's surgeries. Total cost there came out to about $30k (I paid the first $8k surgery in cash, the rest on cards) and the extra 6 months that gave me with her was totally worth the cost, so I'm not complaining, but do want to get back to $0 debt!
- Multiple pre-approval inquiries <-- I would think that shouldn't matter (?)
Also:
I received a card from NFCU saying I am prequalified for their credit card (I have until 4/30 to respond) - so why would I qualify for another card, but not an auto loan?
Any thoughts? Would calling make a difference? Would trying for a used vs new auto loan help? What else can I do?
Welcome to the forum and sorry about your dog.
You gave a good amount of detail, but the credit cards and carried balances part of it is unclear.
Can you list out your CC accounts, the balances you're carrying, and limits for each? Also, when you got the NFCU loan, what was the reason you gave for wanting the loan?
@summerb89 wrote:Hi all,
Long time reader, first time poster here!
I'm perplexed and hope ya'll can help! I tried getting pre-approved for an auto loan with NFCU and PenFed (multiple times for each, with different loan amounts), but keep getting denied. I then tried with Capital One and was pre-approved for 11%-12%, depending on the car.
Is 11% good? I see people posting about getting 6-7% with credit unions, so not getting pre-qualified for my CUs is driving me crazy! Especially since I need to get a car within the next couple of weeks.
Any thoughts? Would calling make a difference? Would trying for a used vs new auto loan help? What else can I do?
you owe a ton of money, pay it back and you might see some improvements.
I'd prob accept Cap1's offer and then refinance when your credit is looking much more paid down in the future
@summerb89 wrote:Hi all,
Long time reader, first time poster here!
I'm perplexed and hope ya'll can help! I tried getting pre-approved for an auto loan with NFCU and PenFed (multiple times for each, with different loan amounts), but keep getting denied. I then tried with Capital One and was pre-approved for 11%-12%, depending on the car.
Is 11% good? I see people posting about getting 6-7% with credit unions, so not getting pre-qualified for my CUs is driving me crazy! Especially since I need to get a car within the next couple of weeks.
- Gross: $72K (not a lot for the Bay Area, but live with my bf who owns his home, so no rent)- Late payments: 0
- Opened first account: early 2020 (OpenSky secured card)
- #CC cards: 8
- CC debt: $8.1K
- Remaining credit available: $39k
- Personal Loan (NFCU): $16.9K (opened last month; transferred $18k in CC debt from old vet bills)
Scores:
- Vantage 3.0: 738 <-- score via NFCU app
- Fico 9 = 695 <-- via PenFed (not updated since Jan so should have gone up a good amount)
- Fico 8 (Transunion) = 697
- Fico 8 (Experian) = 717
- Fico 2 (Experian) = 721
- Transunion: 743
- Equifax: 745
PenFed accounts:
1) Regular savings: $450
* This account receives a bi-monthly transfer of $25 from my payroll
2) Free Checking: $25 (never use)
3) Money Market Savings: $181 (never use)
NFCU accounts:
1) Flagship Checking: $50
2) Savings: $558
3) Personal loan: $16.9K
I pay at least double the min amount on all of my CCs and loan payments each month, so I cannot figure out WHY my credit unions won't prequalify me. The only possibilities I can think of are
- Too new personal loan --Opened the NFCU loan in March. BUT I paid extra so I'm paid up through June (I'm secure with my job, but figure I might as well pay ahead just as a precaution given the economy)
- My credit history isn't long --- opened a few cards last year while scrambling to figure out how to pay for my late dog's surgeries. Total cost there came out to about $30k (I paid the first $8k surgery in cash, the rest on cards) and the extra 6 months that gave me with her was totally worth the cost, so I'm not complaining, but do want to get back to $0 debt!
- Multiple pre-approval inquiries <-- I would think that shouldn't matter (?)
Also:
I received a card from NFCU saying I am prequalified for their credit card (I have until 4/30 to respond) - so why would I qualify for another card, but not an auto loan?
Any thoughts? Would calling make a difference? Would trying for a used vs new auto loan help? What else can I do?
For comparison, the interest rate for my NFCU new car loan (Sept. 2023) is 5.04% for 73 months.
Obviously 11% is not a "good rate" compared to 5.04%, but I have excellent credit and you do not.
With huge omnibus bills federal spending that is priming the inflation pump, I don't expect interest rates to go down soon, though.